Midnight last night was the deadline for federal committees to file their reports for the third quarter (7/1-9/30). You can find the reports here, although not all the data has been processed into the FEC's downloadable forms and, thus the Around The Capitol district pages. About one-third are updated so far [quick look].

BERMAN SHERMAN END GAME

In 22 days, a liberal Jewish Democrat attorney from the San Fernando Valley will wake up in without a future in Congress. It has become perhaps the most personal race in the country, and nearly came to blows at a debate last week.

I'm not sure I would call a 6-point lead a "clinging" moment, but it is true that this poll is narrower than the 13-point lead found by SurveyUSA last month. What the poll really shows is that, if the sample is the same representation, Sherman's support of decided voters has dropped from 58% to 55%, and the number of undecided voters climbed by 19 points. Both were automated, with SurveyUSA augmenting telephone with web-based surveys. Kimball's sample would be a lot more interesting if race was included, as Sherman's largest lead has been among Latino voters.

"While some Democrats in the state groan at all the money this race is soaking up, Sherman noted that this isn’t just a race for one more term in Congress."

"'Let’s face it,' he said, 'whoever wins this thing is in for the next 20 years.'"

Sherman is still the favorite with a huge financial advantage and an continued lead in the polls with only three weeks to go. With Democrats playing to pick up seats across the country, Berman's solid backers in congressional leadership are just not in the position to help.

It's not often the youngest voters can weigh in on something that will have an immediate and concrete impact on their lives. But that's the case with a tax measure on California's Nov. 6 ballot known as Proposition 30.

Out-of-state businesses forego campaign against Proposition 39, an initiative that proponents say would close a tax loophole and provide California $1 billion a year. Some say they were intimidated by a wealthy activists promise to hurt their brand.

Two women in ads touting Proposition 33 are not identified as employees of a PR firm working on the Yes on 33 campaign.Backers of Proposition 33 have run a series of TV ads depicting motorists who support the initiative, which would alter the way auto insurance premiums are regulated in California. Here is a text of one of the ads, and an analysis by Bee staff writer Dale Kasler.

After a six-week absence from the campaign trail, Gov. Jerry Brown plans to hit the road this week to promote his signature tax initiative, Proposition 30. On Tuesday, Brown is set to speak at a rally with UCLA students. The...

When I am asked why I support Proposition 30 I think about Manual Arts High School, where I taught for more than 20 years. Manual Arts is an inner-city school in Los Angeles, serving the families who need public education the most.

Education has not exactly been at the forefront of the presidential campaign. It received far less than even 15 minutes of fame during the first debate, but stand-ins for President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney explored it in depth last night in a debate that revealed sharp philosophical and policy differences between the two candidates.

California voters understand that their schools are in trouble. Forty-two percent of voters give the stateâs schools a grade of D or F, while fewer than 15 percent give them an A or B. Fifty-seven percent of voters believe that California schools have gotten worse in the past few years, and only 7 percent believe that they have gotten better.

We're looking for questions to ask Carl DeMaio and Bob Filner at a mayoral debate focused on education hosted by the University of San Diego's Center for Education Policy and Law and U-T San Diego on Oct. 23. U-T TV will broadcast and stream the event live on Cox Channel 114 and UTTV.com